Autumn Fashion Haul: Missguided, Zara, Yumi and more

Hello beauties

I haven’t done a haul posting in quite a while, mainly because I’ve been saving up like a demon, and although I have bought stuff its been few and far between, so I’ve tended to just do separate posts.

However, this payday I’ve had a bit of a shopping session for a couple of items I’ve patiently had my eye on, and there’s a couple I bought last month.

Some of them were real bargains as well – I love my eBay bargains. I’m going to do one post on the make-up purchases and one on clothes and accessories to make for easier reading. 

Let’s start with the clothes. 

You’ll notice one thing - there’s a lot of black. And a lot of leather. I’m totally having a grunge moment and I make no apologies for that! 

Take a peek in my shopping bags…

Nicole for Missguided Biker Sleeve Dress

Missguided

You can never go wrong with a little black dress, and as the party season approaches and my Little Black Dress Challenge progresses (what is that? find out here), I started my hunt for the perfect LBD.

This little beauty immediately caught my eye, and I umm-ed and ahh-ed for a while.

I completely loved the style of this dress. Its covered up but still sexy – when you get to my grand old age, that matters!

The super-long sleeves and the leather panels on the arms make it a bit different from every other dress out there.

I knew I wanted it but I thought the price was a little steep for Missguided - £40 is a bit more than their usual, even in the Nicole range, and for some reason it kind of irritated me, whereas I wouldn’t have questioned it from other shops – is that weird? 

But in the end I had to give in because I was obsessing about it and I knew I’d be royally P.O-ed if it sold out. Couldn’t take the risk!

This dress has a very Alexander Wang vibe and I felt like it would work well styled up all lady like or grunged down a bit, so I was sold.

Now if only I could look like Scherzy in it, my world would be complete!

Black biker boots

H&M

Every girl needs a pair of grungy biker boots, and its something I felt was missing in my wardrobe. 

They make sense with my style so I was kind of like – ‘Why don’t I own these?’. I have other black ankle boots, which are my must have for winter – but these are a lot flatter and work better for daytime. 

I especially liked the ribbing on the back section and the chunky buckle. H&M, being Scandinavian, are obviously well versed in grunge chic!

These seemed like great daytime boots, but they do have a bit of a heel, so I’m tempted to pair them with the dress above as well to tone down any hint of WAG and make it a bit edgier.

Beige biker coat with quilted leather sleeves

Zara 

I’d been crushing on this coat for a full year, but it sold out last year before I could get my hands on one! 

I’ve bided my time, and as I still loved the look of it, and couldn’t find anything similar elsewhere, I’ve ended up stalking and buying one on eBay.

It was still brand new with the tags on, so I don’t know if someone just bought it and never wore it or if its warehouse stock – either way I was overjoyed to get my paws on one! 

Of course it was the black leather accents that drew me to it. I really like the layered effect with the camel coloured section on top. Zara are so good at beautifully tailored coats and outerwear.

I was also drawn to this because of the cocoon shape and the versatile collar – zipped all the way up its like a funnel neck, or you can leave it unzipped as a shawl collar or clip it halfway for a kind of snood effect. 

Also, you know how some coat shapes only really go with trousers and some only work with skirts – this seems to do both.

Black quilted leather effect skirt

New Look

I might just have an addition to black quilted leather things. Is there some kind of a support group for that?

 I was drawn to this little skirt - again for its rock vibe. Well, at least I’m consistent! This will pair well with my other addictions (boyfriend tees, white shirts and grey jumpers) and also all my other recent buys. 

Its not actually leather, it’s a semi-shiny kind of thick neoprene material. I was a bit disappointed about that – I bought online and it said ‘leather look’ - but you never know if that’s ‘pleather’ or something more like this. New Look is not usually on my radar, but lately I've seen a few great pieces from there.

Once I tried it on, I decided I liked it after all! This would be a good candidate to wear with patterned tights and little flat pumps for a vaguely Left Bank vibe.

Boxy cropped tee

H&M

Although when crop tops first came under the spotlight, a little piece of me died, I’ve since embraced them. 

I’ve learnt the secret to making them work with less than perfect abs – a boxy shape like this, paired with a pencil skirt is actually incredibly flattering and visually makes your waist look tiny! 

You don’t actually show any stomach other than a little half-moon of your upper waist (which tends to be flat-ish anyway). Who would ever have thought a crop top could look elegant?

 The other work-around is to layer them over a plain vest – all of the trend, none of the pain! I knew from the silhouette this top would be perfect for that.

 It’s a drapey crepe material as well, and I really like the kimono type cropped sleeves.

Black ribbed fur jacket

Yumi

Winter was made for faux fur – it’s the perfect way to stay cosy and still glamorous. 

I had an old faithful brown fur jacket that was really nice but made me feel sort of as if I’d skinned Bungle from Rainbow, but I’d worn it to death and decided to update to this sleeker black version. Yumi has a great selection of faux fur that doesn't cost the earth.

There’s something about black fur that just looks glossy and expensive. I liked the ribbing on this as well, it gives it a bit of extra dimension. This will come in handy for winter – both as something to slip over party dresses and a great warmer with jeans and boots.

Rose gold double ring pendant

Royal via eBay

As you know, I’m all about the statement necklace. But lately, I’ve really been liking the look of layering several finer chains instead, and this seemed like the kind of simple piece that could be worn with a lot of different outfits. 

Plus I have a thing about rose gold - which is funny, because when I was younger I wouldn’t touch anything gold, it had to be silver! 

I’ll be honest, this is very much a rip-off of a Cartier design, but although I would love to own one of those, the price tag in the thousands is not the one at the moment. This gives the look at a fraction of the price (I paid around 16 dollars for this, which is about 11 of our English pounds!). 

The design with the interlinked rings and the rivets originates from 1970’s New York, and is apparently a symbol of commitment….seeing as I bought this myself, I like to see it as a symbol of my commitment to shopping.

Gold hair chains

eBay

I couldn’t resist picking up a set of these, I just thought they were so pretty and unusual. What a great way to dress up your locks and make a hairdo a little bit more special. 

There are two comb grips either end and then four fine gold chains running across the top.

I actually thought these would be the ideal thing as a wedding guest - much better than a tired old fascinator, and yet still giving an outfit that extra special touch.

There’s something Grecian, something a little punk about them as well. They’d look equally good looped over loose, flowing waves or clipped into a neat chignon.

So that’s my little clothing and accessories haul…stayed tuned for part two with make-up purchases! 

What have you been buying recently? How would you style the items above?